The father of modern criminology, the 19th century Italian sociologist Cesare Lombroso (1835–1909), believed that criminality was genetically determined. “Born criminals” could be detected by the presence of a long list of “stigmata” such as an asymmetrical face, sloping forehead, large ears or even left-handedness. They were atavistic biological throwbacks, reversions to an ape-like state, men and women condemned to lives of degeneracy.
Abstract:
The idea that bad guys are made by bad genes may have a new springtime.
